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(b. Brooklyn, New York 1883; d.
1954)
William Van Alen was born in Brooklyn, New
York in 1883. While he attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, he worked in
the office of Clarence True. He also worked for several firms in New York,
before he won the 1908 Lloyd Warren Fellowship which allowed him to study
in Europe. In Paris, Van Alen studied in the atelier of Victor Laloux at
the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
In 1911, Van Alen returned to New York,
where he formed a partnership with H. Craig Severance. The partnership
became known for its distinctive multistory commercial structures which
abandoned the historic formula of base, shaft, and capital. The
partnership dissolved around 1925 and Van Alen continued to practice on
his own in New York.
Van Alen is best known for his design of
the Chrysler Building, often praised as the greatest example of Art Deco
style skyscrapers and the perfect monument to American capitalism.
Although the Chrysler Building is now highly regarded, his career suffered
after its completion due to accusactions made against him by the powerful
client, William P. Chrysler. He died in 1954.
References
Adolf K Placzek. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects. Vol. 1. London: The
Free Press, 1982. ISBN 0-02-925000-5. NA40.M25.
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